Commission Staff Working Document: Analysis of the recovery and resilience plan of Romania amending the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan of 29 October 2021

rope of M1 in Cluj-Napoca, with the section Țara Moților (Teilor) – Sf. Maria (Câmpului). To reflect these proposed changes milestones 86 and 87, as well as targets 88 and 89 have been amended accordingly. Component 5 – Renovation wave Investment 1. Establishment of a Renovation Wave fund to finance works to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock – In accordance with Article 21, due to price increases and supply chain constraints for renovation materials and works, Romania lowered the targets and postponed the implementation timeline of this investment. As a consequence, milestones 95 and 96, and targets 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 and 106 have been amended to reflect these changes. Component 6 – Energy Reform 1. Electricity market reform, replacement of coal in the energy mix and support for a legislative and regulatory framework for private investment in renewable electricity production – In accordance with Article 21, to ensure security of supply in the wake of the energy crisis brought 6 about by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the ensuing need to phase out imports of fossil fuels from Russia, Romania amended targets 115 and 119 aligning them with the provisions of the Decarbonisation Law (milestone 113), positively assessed by the Commission in the context of Romania’s second payment request. Investment 1. New capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources – In accordance with Article 21c(2) of the RRF Regulation, Romania transferred this investment to component 16 – REPowerEU. Investment 2. Distribution infrastructure of renewable gases (using natural gas in combination with green hydrogen as a transitional measure), as well as green hydrogen production capacities and/or its use for electricity storage – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended this investment due to disruption of supply chains and price increases. The sub-investment for the construction of the distribution network of renewable gases in the Oltenia region has been removed, while the ambition of the sub-investment for the construction of new electrolysers capacity has been reduced from 100 to 55 MWH2. Milestones 129 and 130, and targets 131 and 132 have been modified accordingly. Investment 4. Industrial chain of production and/or assembly and/or recycling of batteries, cells and photovoltaic panels (including auxiliary equipment), as well as new electricity storage capacities – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the completion of milestones 135 and 136 and targets 137, 138 and 139, due to supply chain disruptions and price increases delaying the completion of the tender procedures. Investment 5. Ensuring energy efficiency in the industrial sector – In accordance with Article 21, Romania decreased target 141 due to insufficient demand in tendering procedures and increase of costs to achieve the same objective. Component 7 – Digital transformation Investment 5. Digitalisation in the field of the environment – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 167 to reflect that the objectives of the investment will be reached by means of an overall better alternative solution within the same allocation. Investment 8. Electronic identity card and digital signature – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the allocation of this investment and consequently reduced the number of citizens benefiting from the electronic identity card from 8.5 million to 5 million and removed the financing for the optional certificate for the qualified electronic signature. To support the implementation of the investment, Romania included the development and implementation of 11 online public services, the development of an early warning system regarding security risks and the implementation of an awareness campaign. As a consequence, targets 173 and 174 have been amended. 7 Component 8 – Tax and pensions reforms Reform 5. Establishment and operationalisation of the National Development Bank – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 209 concerning the operationalisation of the National Development Bank, to reflect the new steps required for its registration. Reform 6. Reform of the public pension system – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 214 concerning the entry into force of the new law on the pension system, replacing the provisions of Law No 127/2019, to reflect that the objectives of the reform will be reached by means of an overall better alternative solution. Investment 4. Implementation of electronic customs – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 231 and target 232 to reflect that one contract for developing new IT systems for customs is removed. The budget linked to this contract is redirected to other activities within the same investment for which new technical needs have emerged. Component 9 – Support to the private sector, research, development and innovation Investment 1. Digital platforms on legislative transparency, de-bureaucratisation and procedural simplification for business – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 246 to reflect that the scope of the one-stop-shop platform is expanded, which constitutes a manifestly better alternative to achieve the objectives of the investment. Investment 4. Cross-border and multi-country projects – Low Power Processors and Semiconductor Chips – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the timeline to select entities for participation or association in the project from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, and proposed to commit EUR 360 million (which represents 90% of the revised funding) by Q2 2024,instead of 50% by Q3 2023, which constitutes a better alternative solution to reach the objectives of the investment. Targets 267 and 269 have been amended accordingly. Investment 7. Strengthening excellence and supporting Romania’s participation in partnerships and missions in Horizon Europe – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 283 to increase the funding devoted to co-funding research projects as part of the investment, which constitutes a manifestly better alternative to deliver the objectives of the investment. Investment 9. Support for the holders of certificates of excellence received in the Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship Award – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 285 to reduce the number of grants (from 50 to 10) allocated to Marie Sklodowska Curie recipients of Seal of Excellence Certificates to carry out Horizon research projects, due to the limited number of applications received despite the efforts of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation to advertise this investment. The cost reduction is proportional to the adjustment of the target. 8 Component 10 – Local fund Investment 1. Sustainable urban mobility – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the allocation of sustainable transport measures by EUR 275 million, i.e. EUR 95 million for electric vehicles charging stations and EUR 180 million for bicycle lanes at local/metropolitan level. As a consequence, targets 302, 305, 306 and milestone 304 have been removed from the RRP, while target 303 has been reduced with respect to its level of required implementation. In addition, due to supply-chain disruptions, Romania removed interim target 295, while keeping target 296 at its original value. Investment 2. Construction of housing for youth and for professionals in health and education – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 318 and 319 due to prices increases. Investment 3. Moderate rehabilitation of public buildings to improve public service delivery by administrative territorial units – In accordance with Article 21, due to supply chain disruptions and price increases, Romania removed interim target 321 and reduced target 322. Investment 4. Development/updating in GIS format of spatial planning and urban planning documents – In accordance with Article 21, due to price increases, Romania removed interim target 324 and reduced target 325. Component 11 – Tourism and culture Reform 1. Operationalisation of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced target 330 due to a drop in tourist arrivals as a consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Investment 1. Promotion of 12 touristic/cultural routes – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 334 and target 335 to reflect a postponement of the completion date of the investment and changes to the final structure of the sites selected in each tourist and cultural route. Investment 2. Modernisation/creation of museums and memorials – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 336 and target 337 to change the status of Satu Mare Museum from “renewal project” to “new construction”. Additionally, Romania removed the Museum of photography from the list of projects to be either renovated or newly constructed because of a high risk of non-implementation due to ongoing legal proceedings. Reform 2. Framework for the operationalisation of cycling routes at national level – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 340 to reduce the length of the cycling routes to be renovated, due to price increases. Investment 4. Implementation of 3 000 km of cycling routes – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 342 and target 343 to reduce the length of the cycling routes to be renovated to 2 404 km due to price increases. 9 Investment 7. Accelerating the digitisation of film production and distribution – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 349 and target 350. It clarified the categories of eligible applicants and the type of award procedure. Component 12 – Healthcare Investment 1. Development of pre-hospital medical infrastructure – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget allocated to this investment and consequently reduced target 367, concerning renovating or equipping practices of family doctors or associations of primary care practices, and target 372, on the renovation and/or equipment of family planning offices. Investment 2. Development of public hospital infrastructure – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget allocated to this investment and consequently reduced target 377, concerning the construction and/or the equipping of new public health units/hospitals. Component 15 – Education Reform 1. Elaboration and adoption of the legislative package for the implementation of the "Educated Romania” project – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 452 to reflect a better, more streamlined legislative procedure to attain the objectives of the reform. Investment 1. Construction, equipping and operationalisation of 110 crèches – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended target 457 reducing the minimum capacity of crèches to take into account the specific needs at local level and to comply with the relevant provisions on the design, construction, organisation and functioning of crèches. Investment 2. Setting up, equipping and operationalising 412 complementary services for disadvantaged groups – In accordance with Article 18, Romania reduced the budget of the measure and proportionally reduced milestone 458 and target 459. Investment 4. Supporting educational establishments with high risk of drop-outs – In accordance with Article 21, Romania extended the timeline for achieving targets 466 and 467, to allow relaunching the second call for projects necessary to achieve these targets. Reform 5. Adoption of the legislative framework for the digitalisation of education – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestone 479 to reflect a better, more streamlined legislative procedure to attain the objectives of the reform. Investment 9. Ensuring digital technology equipment and resources for schools – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced the number of schools with new technological resources for IT laboratories in target 482, due to a low number of projects submitted and insufficient demand. Investment 10. Green-schools network development and purchase of green minibuses – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced targets 486, 487 and 488, due to price increases. For target 486, Romania also extended the timeline for completion. Investment 11. Provision of facilities for pre-university classrooms and school laboratories/workshops – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended milestones 489 and 10 490, and targets 491 and 492 to better align the investment to the needs of the education institutions concerned. Reform 7. Reform of the governance of the pre-university education system and professionalisation of management – In accordance with Article 21, Romania postponed the timeline for the completion of milestone 495, as the reform of the governance needs to be in line with the upcoming legislative package for the implementation of the ‘Educated Romania’ project under milestone 452, which has a later date for completion. Investment 15. Online School: Assessment platform and content development – In accordance with Article 21, Romania extended the timeline of milestone 498 to take into account the requirements of the new Education law and its implementation, as well as the complexity and functionalities to be delivered. Investment 16. Digitisation of universities and their preparation for the digital professions of the future – In accordance with Article 21, Romania removed milestone 501 related to the digitalisation of the National Council of Rectors considering that the latter is not eligible to receive RRP funding. Investment 17. Ensuring university infrastructure (homes, canteens, recreation facilities) – In accordance with Article 21, Romania reduced the output and postponed the timeline for implementation of targets 503, 504, 505 and 506, due to price increases. Investment 18. Training and coaching programme for school managers and inspectors – In accordance with Article 21, Romania amended the requirements of target 507, due to the ongoing restructuring process of the education system. Component 16 – REPowerEU Romania’s REPowerEU chapter amounts to EUR 2 017 million to be financed by Emissions Trading System resources (EUR 1 397 million), Brexit Adjustment Reserve transfer (EUR 43 million) and the freed-up loan capacity following the amendments under Article 21 to the RRP (EUR 577 million). The chapter includes two new reforms and seven investments, among which, an investment for renewable energy generation (C16.I2) that was previously included in the energy component (as C6.I1) and another one (C16.I3) that is a scaling-up of an existing energy efficiency scheme under the renovation wave component (C5). The chapter’s reforms and investments concern the acceleration of green energy generation, boosting energy efficiency in buildings and re- and up-skilling in the field of green energy generation. Under the REPowerEU chapter and in accordance with Article 21c of the RRF Regulation, Romania has introduced the following nine measures: Reform 1. Creating a legal framework for the use of state land as acceleration areas for RES investments – This reform aims at putting in place dedicated acceleration areas for renewable energy sources (RES) investments, with particularly short and simple permitting processes. The reform is expected to develop the appropriate tools and datasets to identify those areas for the rapid deployment of new installations to produce energy from wind and solar. Regular tenders for the 11 concessions aim to ensure the level playing field between public and private investors. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through accelerating the development of renewables. Reform 2. Setting up of one-stop-shops (OSS) to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and energy production from renewable sources for prosumers – This reform aims at putting in place dedicated offices, serving as one-stop-shops to provide energy advisory services for energy efficiency renovations and the deployment of new installations to produce energy from RES. The reform aims to raise homeowners’ awareness on the benefits of energy efficiency renovations and installation of RES for self-consumption, provide general information on the practicalities and support opportunities, and thereby facilitate energy efficiency renovation works and installation of RES for self-consumption. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through providing better access to information. Investment 1. Training for green energy skills – This investment complements the one on renewable energy production by strengthening the skills and capacity of the workforce in the energy sector, which is currently insufficient to deliver the required shift to renewable energy deployment. Courses financed under this investment are expected to train 4 000 professionals and workers, to improve their skills in the area of renewable energy production. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through stepping up the policy efforts aimed at the provision and acquisition of skills and competences needed for the green transition. Investment 2. New capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources – This investment was previously included in component 6 – Energy, as investment C6.I1 and aims to install 950MW of new renewable power production capacity (onshore wind and solar) through a competitive public call for tenders. The measure addresses CSRs 2023.3 and 2022.3 through the deployment of additional renewable energy capac